1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an input/output module, and more particularly, to an input/output module which is commonly usable to a recorder and a data logger, and which is also usable as a stand alone input/output module.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-236888, filed Oct. 26, 2012, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
A recorder such as a paperless recorder can use an input/output module to acquire measurement signals from measurement targets. The input/output module includes input/output terminals of a plurality of channels. The input/output module is configured to convert analog measurement signals into digital signals or to perform calculation such as scaling if necessary, and to supply the digital signals to a recorder.
As illustrated in FIG. 8A, a recorder 60 includes a box-shaped casing, and a display device 61 displaying waveforms or the like is disposed on the front surface of the casing. As illustrated in FIG. 8B, an opening 62 is formed on the rear surface of the casing and a plurality of slots for connecting input/output modules are formed in the opening 62. By mounting an input/output module 70 on one of the slots, the recorder 60 and the input/output module 70 are electrically connected via a connector.
A data logger is configured to collect and store various kinds of data. The data logger is also configured to use an input/output module to acquire measurement signals from measurement targets. As illustrated in FIG. 9, a data logger 80 is configured by an input/output module 81, a main module 82 configured to function as a data collection engine, and a power module 83. The input/output module 81, the main module 82, and the power module 83 are connected together via plate-shaped bases 84.
In the related art, the input/output module 70 for a recorder and the input/output module 81 for a data logger are separately designed, and thus there is a difference in the size or the configuration of a power source. For example, the shape of the input/output module 70 for the recorder and the shape of the input/output module 81 for the data logger are designed to be different in all of the width, the height, and the depth.
The input/output module 70 for the recorder is configured to be supplied with a power voltage from an internal power unit of the recorder 60 to operate. The input/output module 81 for the data logger is configured to be supplied with a power voltage from the power module 83 to operate. The input/output module 70 for the recorder is configured to operate with a voltage lower than the voltage of the input/output module 81 for the data logger.
Accordingly, since there is the difference in the size and the configuration of the power source, the input/output module 70 for the recorder is not compatible with the input/output module 81 for the data logger.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Application No. 2010-9264 is an example of the related art mentioned above.